MAPP Leadership Program 2026-2027

Session 02

People Management: How to with anyone

21.10.2026

On Tuesday, we held Session 02 of the MAPP Leadership Program 2026–27, and it was a full and energising morning.

We started with our Executive Leader segment. Amal Iharkachen (Rise PM) and Nick Brisbane (Colliers) shared their own experiences of working with people from different backgrounds, styles and perspectives. They talked about what it takes to build trust, adapt your approach and lead well when no two people in the room work the same way.

Viren Thakrar led the training workshop and the group explored:

- How our personal working style and cultural lens shape our interactions

- Recognising behavioural and cultural preferences in others

- adapting our leadership to suit

- Practical tools for adjusting our management approach

- Building empathy and stronger relationships across diverse teams

- Handling conflict and confrontation

- Managing communication: the importance of 1 on 1's

With a quick game game of Quinks, the participants got to know each other better and mapped their strengths on the Wheel of Strengths, a fun and practical way to see the range of talent in the room.

Thank you to Amal, Nick and Viren for sharing your time and expertise, and to every participant for bringing such energy and openness.

Session 01

Rethinking Leadership : In an era of complexity

08.09.2026

We officially kicked off the MAPP Leadership Program 2026-27 with our first session, bringing together around 40 participants from across the multicultural property and built environment community. The session, led by Simi Rayat, challenged us to look beyond traditional ideas of leadership and explore what it means to lead in environments that are increasingly complex, diverse and multicultural.

Together, we explored:
- The impact of our cultural values in our leadership styles
- The difference between being a manager and a leader
- The importance of trust, empathy and meaningful feedback
- Being authentic while adapting our leadership style to different situations
- Building self-awareness and finding our own leadership style

The interactive activities and conversations created plenty of opportunities to pause, reflect and challenge our own assumptions about leadership.

The session was followed by an engaging leadership panel with executive leaders Niall Cunningham and Ursula Dyer Lepporoli, who shared valuable perspectives and real-world experiences of leading through complexity.

One of the key messages from the day was simple yet powerful:
Leadership starts with understanding ourselves and the people we lead. From asking “How are you feeling?” to making space for reflection, feedback and end-of-day journaling... effective leadership is as much about self-awareness, connection and empathy as it is about strategy and delivery.

Our partners 

Initiative Partners 

Foundation Partners 

Thank you to our sponsors.